Back surgery for slipped prolapsed disc

This is a special place for pups to share their love and support for each other during difficult times; it's a place to light candles, give the "Power of the Paw," and let everyfur know they are never ever alone.

Bosley is on a dry dental food but it seems to much of an effort for him to eat right now so he is on soft food. He did his business outside this morning and again in the kitchen......ugh.

I do have to carry him in and out and he can stand on his own but I have to lay his back paws flat on the floor for him. He can't walk.

The after care is intense to say the least. I am doing his exercises with him 6 times a day and in between that cleaning up vomit, pee and poop. I know in the end it will all be worth it but right now it seems impossible.

I'm so glad to hear that bosley is home! He will do better at home...I'm sure he will. With time and commitment, your boy will be back to feeling more like his ol self. I know it's overwhelming...it can be scary as heck. It was so hard for mom to see me...scooting on the floor...happy as can be...scooting along for a treat, but seeing the progress...even if it was a little bit was all worth it. Feel free to contiue posting here...we'll offer as much support as we can. You tell Bosley he has complete strangers here sending him lots of positive thoughts and he has to be strong! Hang in there...you are right...in the end, it will be worth it!

Are you seeing progress, even small steps towards recovery? I'm curious what your doctor thinks too.

As for not pooping...Summer is right...a little spoonful of pumpkin might help. not pie filling pumpkin, but regular canned pumpkin.

Summer, glad you are feeling better too. The biggest triggers for a herniated disc are: jumping off and on furniture, running down stairs (especially making that jump at the end), and what mom calls "rabbit chasing" running...zig zagging Keep feeling better Summer!

Thanks so much for your support. I have pooped today, three times. Only once was outside but Mom is showing great patience. She tried to be sneaky and put my pills in a piece of cheese but I always manage to spit them out. Today she went out and got these great delicious treats by Greenies. They are called Pill Pockets and she stuffed the pills inside and I loved them so much, I didn't even notice. Have your mom's buy them to if you ever need to take medicine.

Mom has said she has noticed an improvement even from yesterday. My hind quarters are very tight which will make my recovery a little more difficult and slower. With physio 6 times a day, it helps to loosen my hind quarters. When mom brought me home yesterday, I would sit on my bottom with my hind legs fully extended in front of me. Today I am having an easier time folding them up beside me. When we are outside, she gives me support by holding me up from behind. When I try to walk, she moves my back legs for me but I am really getting the hang of that and I feel myself trying to run out of her hands.

Something that I find upsetting, I have not been crated since I was a puppy and now when Mom steps away or out for a bit and puts me in the crate, I get very angry with her and do my business all over myself to let her know. Since I am lead a sedentary lifestyle, I usually lay out beside her in my bed when she is in the kitchen or family room. It sure beats the crate but sometimes I understand she has to crate me to keep me safe.

Any advice for her on how to keep me from peeing in there?

Thanks for checking in my new friends. Stay tuned for updates. Hopefully sometime soon I will be able to tell you that I am walking again.

If you don't want to type as Bosley, you don't have to. Personally I think us pups are more interesting Whatever makes you more comfortable

Here's my mom: I find it interesting that Bosley messes in his crate. Most dogs will NOT do that. Big question for you...how large is the crate? It should just be big enough for Bosley to walk in, turn around in comfortable, and stand/lay down. You did mention he was crated as a puppy, but was he actually crate trained?

Is the crate plastic or wired?
How long is he crated?

Maybe you can give him something as a distraction. A kong filled with peanut butter...stuffed banana, biscuits, etc.

Something tells me he isn't doing it because he is mad. Anxious maybe but I don't think dogs pee on our things or in their crates, chew on stuff because they are mad. That's more of a human assumption.

Another alternative when you can't supervise or watch him is to put him in a room. Some will use a baby gate so that the door doesn't have to be closed. The important thing is not letting him jump on furniture, go up and down stairs, or run around. Is that an option? I know in my house, we have open rooms so to it wouldn't really work in my house unless I put Scooter in the bathroom or our office (which doesn't have furniture to jump on except for an office chair I keep tucked in. At the same time, I don't trust Scooter not to destroy something Luckily, Scooter is crate trained and she actually loves going in her crate.

I am so glad to hear that Bosley is doing a little better.....and the poop news is great!!! (maybe not so great in the house...)

Did the Vet say why his legs are so stiff and fully extended? Is that normal Scooter? Does he have feeling in them, or is that to come with progress and time? I am glad you are getting him outside and getting him moving a little. You are doing such a great job with him, he is very lucky.

My girls are all like Scooter, they like their crates!!!They think of them as their beds and their "place" to go relax. I never close the doors, they just go in and out freely. Has he ever been crated? Scooter gave good advice about the crate. It should be only big enough for him, not big enough for him to have two bedrooms in it!! I made that mistake with Summer when I first got her. I had a HUGE crate and I thought that I was just the best Mom around, giving her a big bed to be safe in. Well, she used one side to pee in, and the other side to sleep in!!

I am looking forward to updates and reading his progress. I am sure he is VERY happy to be home. Does he sleep near you? I'll bet he was lonely at night while at the vet, another reason he will be better at home.

Like two idiots, we took the girls, including Summer, out for a walk last evening. Summer was feeling much better, acting spry, so we thought, why not go for a slow, short walk. Well, even just out to the pine grove and back was too much. Today, I feel like she was sore or something. She is happy and acting well, but she will not even try to go up or down even one step. It was a challenge keeping her from stairs for the past two days since she was better, but now I feel like that was very irresponsible of us to take her on a walk. Almost 3 weeks ago the Vet said to rest her for two weeks, and we honestly didn't go far, but it was too much. She already seems better to me, but no more walkies for awhile.

Give Bosley and Scooter big hugs from us, but don't squeeze Bosley too tight. Keep us posted and I will check this often to hear of some improvement. I'll bet you by the weekend he will be moving those back legs!!

Bosley's crate is made of wire and it is big enough for him to lay down in or turn around but it is not too big. Maybe it is more of an anxiety thing than an anger thing but this has always been a problem. When I go out, I confine him to my laundry room because he will pee or poop in the house but if I am with him, he goes all night long and several hours a day without going. He has control but chooses not to when I am not around.

Not a big deal right now, it is the least of my worries. I wonder when he is expected to walk. At what point, would it be safe to say he will never walk? I am not discouraged yet because it is way too early but how long do you think this will take?

My poor Bosley is physically challenged, even before he slipped his disc. His front legs are turned out, almost backwards. He looks like a Dr. Suess character. It took him 5 years to learn how to jump up on a couch or climb stairs and he never really became comfortable with it. His hind quarters are very tight because of the neurological damage as well as his physical makeup. So he is on the slow plan. The vet has every reason to believe that he will walk again but it may take him a little longer.

He sleeps beside my bed on his bed so I can keep an eye on him and I have the area blocked so he can't move around. He slept very well last night.

Bosley, what did the doctor say about his prognosis? Summer asked if the stiffness is normal and honestly, I don't know. I was made of rubber BOL! I believe recovery depends on where the slipped/herniated disc was. I had a friend...Rowdy...his progress was much slower than mine. It took him a few weeks.

The stiffness is not something I am familiar with. This is something the doctor should be able to answer. Does he feel with the proper excercise and therapy that Bosley can make a full recovery or close to it?

I remember not being able to walk and mom asked the doctor over and over again...will Scooter make a full recovery and he was adamant that she would. Now here she is again...walking around on all beagley fours...like she owns the place I was scared because he kept telling me she will recover, but here was my sweet 5 year old beagle and she was scooting along the floor the day before her surgery and for a few days after. I trusted in what he said...even though I asked over and over again LOL!

As for his anxiety being in the crate, has he been crate trained? Trained to go into his crate with treats or positive reinforcement? Your best bet may be a small room with no furniture or at least none he can jump on. Now may not be the time to "crate train" him. I'm sure he is stressed out as it is knowing he is not functioning normally.

Summer...I'm going to share with you...when my vet first suspected something was up with my back (I was hesitant on stairs...I didn't want to go up and down and I couldn't jump up on the sofa), my vet told me thought it could be two things...a herniated disc or a muscle strain of some kind.

At the time I knew nothing about herniated discs or "crate rest". The vet ordered Scooter to two weeks of crate rest....only come out when she has to go to the bathroom. He wanted to have her eat in the crate. I explained that Scooter has always been walked to go to the bathroom. He really didn't want her doing that. He said if you want to walk her in a half a block and back, ok but he didn't want her walking at all. At the time, I didn't really get that. I thought ok...so no running or jumping...no stairs. But literally he wanted her supervised or in her crate at all times. The rest and relaxation was important. But again, I just didn't get it like I do now.

Well after being on medicine for a few days, I started to let off the reigns, gave Scooter more freedom. I wouldn't let her on the sofa or anything, but I did take her "around the block. A day or two later is when we noticed she isn't "picking up" her back right leg like normal. It was dragging a little bit. We took her back to the vet...he did a neurological test and sent me to the emergency vet right away because I was a possible step away from paralysis.

He asked about the strict crate rest and I told I was walked a little bit. He wasn't happy that I was walking her a block or two even if it was slow.

I knew I needed to listen to him and not stray one bit from their instructions. By then it was too late and even though I was crated for two days, I slowly got worse and that's when they had to do the emergency surgery.

I'm hoping you feel better. Make sure you are carried up and down the stairs...make sure you don't jump on the furniture, and make sure you don't run. Not a lecture...just saying it because I care. I gave Scooter freedom too early and we both paid for it...she lost all function in her back legs and I was out a lot of money for her back surgery. Im not sure if it would have made a difference, but I always wondered what would have happened if I followed the vets instructions to the letter.

I don't want you to get worse. I have heard about strict cage rest leading back to a full recovery so it is possible. Thinking of you too Summer! You know I have a thing for beagles